principles

His work consisted largely of what the War Department called ‘intelligence’, the sofisticates, ‘espionage’, and the romanticists, ‘spy stuff’. And, unfortunately, despite the frothy shrillness of televisors, ‘intelligence’, ‘espionage’, and ‘spy stuff’ are at best a sordid business of routine betrayed and bad baith. It is excused by society since it is in the best ‘interest of the State’, but since philosophy seemed always to lead Captain Pritcher to the conclusion that even in that holy interest, society is much more easily soothed than one’s own conscience - he discouraged philosophy.

Foundation and empire, Isaac Asimov